____________
THE
OF
THEOSOPHY
A Definitive Work on Theosophy
By
William Quan Judge
CHAPTER 17
Psychic
Phenomena
and
Spiritualism
In the history of psychical phenomena the records of so-called
"spiritualism" in Europe, America, and elsewhere hold an important
place. Advisedly I say that no term was ever more misapplied than that of
"spiritualism" to the cult in Europe and America just mentioned,
inasmuch as there is nothing of the spirit about it.
The doctrines given in preceding chapters are those of true
spiritualism; the misnamed practises of modern mediums and so-called spiritists
constitute the Worship of the Dead, old-fashioned necromancy, in fact, which
was always prohibited by spiritual teachers. They are a gross materializing of
the spiritual idea, and deal with matter more than with its opposite. This cult
is supposed by some to have originated about forty years ago in America at
Rochester, N. Y., under the mediumship of the Fox sisters, but it was known in
Salem during the witchcraft excitement, and in Europe one hundred years ago the
same practises were pursued, similar phenomena seen, mediums developed, and
seances held.
For centuries it has been well known in India where it is properly
designated "bhuta worship," meaning the attempt to communicate with
the devil or Astral remnants of deceased persons. This should be its name here
also, for by it the gross and devilish, or earthly, parts of man are excited,
appealed to,
and communicated with. But the facts of the long record of forty years
in America demand a brief examination. These facts all studious Theosophists
must admit. The theosophical explanation and deductions, however, are totally
different from those of the average spiritualist. A philosophy has not been
evolved in the ranks or literature of spiritualism; nothing but theosophy will
give the true explanation, point out defects, reveal dangers, and
suggest remedies.
As it is plain that clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-transference,
prophecy, dream and vision, levitation, apparitional appearance, are all powers
that have been known for ages, the questions most pressing in respect to
spiritualism are those relating to communication with the souls of those who
have left this earth and are now disembodied, and with unclassified spirits who
have not been embodied here but belong to other spheres. Perhaps also the
question of materialization of forms at seances deserves some attention.
Communication includes trance-speaking, slate and other writing,
independent voices in the air, speaking through the physical vocal organs of
the medium, and precipitation
of written messages out of the air. Do the mediums communicate with the
spirits of the dead? Do our departed friends perceive the state of life they
have left, and do they sometimes return to speak to and with us?
The answers are intimated in foregoing chapters. Our departed do not see
us here. They are relieved from the terrible pang such a sight would inflict.
Once in a while a pure-minded, unpaid medium may ascend in trance to the state
in which a deceased soul is, and may remember some bits of what was there
heard;
but this is rare. Now and then in the course of decades some high human
spirit may for a moment return and by unmistakable means communicate with
mortals.
At the moment of death the soul may speak to some friend on earth before
the door is finally shut. But the mass of communications alleged as made day
after day through mediums are from the astral unintelligent remains of men, or
in many
cases entirely the production of, invention, compilation, discovery, and
collocation by the loosely attached Astral body of the living medium. Certain
objections arise to the theory that the spirits of the dead communicate.
Some are:
I. At no time have these spirits given the laws governing any of the
phenomena, except in a few instances, not accepted by the cult, where the
theosophical theory was advanced. As it would destroy such structures as those
erected by A. J. Davis, these particular spirits fell into discredit.
II. The spirits disagree among themselves, one stating the after-life to
be very different from the description by another. These disagreements vary
with the medium and the supposed theories of the deceased during life. One
spirit admits reincarnation and others deny it.
III. The spirits have discovered nothing in respect to history, anthropology,
or other important matters, seeming to have less ability in that line than
living men; and although they often claim to be men who lived in older
civilizations, they show ignorance thereupon or merely repeat recently
published discoveries.
IV. In these forty years no rationale of phenomena nor of development of
mediumship has been obtained from the spirits. Great philosophers are reported
as speaking through mediums, but utter only drivel and merest commonplaces.
V. The mediums come to physical and moral grief, are accused of fraud,
are shown guilty of trickery, but the spirit guides and controls do not
interfere to either prevent or save.
VI. It is admitted that the guides and controls deceive and incite to
fraud.
VII. It is plainly to be seen through all that is reported of the
spirits that their assertions and philosophy, if any, vary with the medium and
the most advanced thought of living spiritualists.
From all this and much more that could be adduced, the man of
materialistic science is fortified in his ridicule, but the theosophist has to
conclude that the entities, if there be any communicating, are not human
spirits, and that the
explanations are to be found in some other theories.
Materialization of a form out of the air, independent of the medium's
physical body, is a fact. But it is not a spirit. As was very well said by one
of the "spirits" not flavoured by spiritualism, one way to produce
this phenomenon is by the accretion of electrical and magnetic particles into one
mass upon which matter is aggregated and an image reflected out of the Astral
sphere.
This is the whole of it; as much a fraud as a collection of muslin and
masks. How this is accomplished is another matter. The spirits are not able to
tell, but an attempt has been made to indicate the methods and instruments in
former chapters. The second method is by the use of the Astral body of the
living
medium. In this case the Astral form exudes from the side of the medium,
gradually collects upon itself particles extracted from the air and the bodies
of the sitters present, until at last it becomes visible.
Sometimes it will resemble the medium; at others it bears a different
appearance. In almost every instance dimness of light is requisite because a
high light would disturb the Astral substance in a violent manner and render
the projection difficult. Some
so-called materializations are hollow mockeries, as they are but flat
plates of electrical and magnetic substance on which pictures from the Astral
Light are reflected. These seem to be the faces of the dead, but they are
simply pictured illusions.
If one is to understand the psychic phenomena found in the history of
"spiritualism" it is necessary to know and admit the following:
I. The complete heredity of man astrally, spiritually, and psychically,
as a being who knows, reasons, feels, and acts through the body, the Astral
body, and the soul.
II. The nature of the mind, its operation, its powers; the nature and
power of imagination; the duration and effect of impressions. Most important in
this is the persistence of the slightest impression as well as the deepest;
that every impression produces a picture in the individual aura; and that by
means of this a connection is established between the auras of friends and
relatives old, new, near, distant, and remote in degree: this would give a wide
range of possible sight to a clairvoyant.
III. The nature, extent, function, and power of man's inner Astral
organs and faculties included in the terms Astral body and Kama. That these are
not hindered from action by trance or sleep, but are increased in the medium
when entranced; at the same time their action is not free, but governed by the
mass chord of thought among the sitters, or by a predominating will, or by the
presiding devil behind the scenes; if a sceptical scientific investigator be
present, his mental attitude may totally inhibit the action of the medium's
powers by what we might call a freezing process which no English terms will
adequately describe.
IV. The fate of the real man after death, his state, power, activity
there, and his relation, if any, to those left behind him here.
V. That the intermediary between mind and body -- the Astral body -- is
thrown off at death and left in the Astral light to fade away; and that the
real man goes to Devachan.
VI. The existence, nature, power, and function of the Astral light and
its place as a register in Nature. That it contains, retains, and reflects
pictures of each and every thing that happened to anyone, and also every
thought; that it permeates the globe and the atmosphere around it; that the
transmission of vibration through it is practically instantaneous, since the
rate is much quicker than that of electricity as now known.
VII. The existence in the Astral light of beings not using bodies like
ours, but not human in their nature, having powers, faculties, and a sort of
consciousness of their own; these include the elemental forces or nature sprites
divided into many degrees, and which have to do with every operation of Nature
and every motion of the mind of man. That these elementals act at seances
automatically in their various departments, one class presenting pictures,
another producing sounds, and others depolarizing objects for the purposes of
apportation. Acting with them in this Astral sphere are the soulless men who
live in it. To these are to be ascribed the phenomenon, among others, of the
"independent voice," always sounding like a voice in a barrel just
because it is made in a vacuum which is absolutely necessary for an entity so
far removed from spirit. The peculiar timbre of this sort of voice has not been
noticed by the spiritualists as important, but it is extremely significant in
the view of occultism.
VIII. The existence and operation of occult laws and forces in nature
which may be used to produce phenomenal results on this plane; that these laws
and forces may be put into operation by the subconscious man and by the elementals
either consciously or unconsciously, and that many of these occult operations
are automatic in the same way as is the freezing of water under intense cold or
the melting of ice under heat.
IX. That the Astral body of the medium, partaking of the nature of the
Astral substance, may be extended from the physical body, may act outside of
the latter, and may also extrude at times any portion of itself such as hand,
arm, or leg and thereby move objects, indite letters, produce touches on the
body, and so on ad infinitum. And that the Astral body of any person may be
made to feel sensation, which, being transmitted to the brain, causes the
person to think he is touched on the outside or has heard a sound.
Mediumship is full of dangers because the Astral part of the man is now
only normal in action when joined to the body; in distant years it will
normally act without a body as it has in the far past. To become a medium means
that you have to become disorganized physiologically and in the nervous system,
because through the latter is the connection between the two worlds.
The moment the door is opened all the unknown forces rush in, and as the
grosser part of nature is nearest to us it is that part which affects us most;
the lower nature is also first affected and inflamed because the forces used
are from that part of us.
We are then at the mercy of the vile thoughts of all men, and subject to
the influence of the shells in Kama Loka. If to this be added the taking of
money for the practice of mediumship, an additional danger is at hand, for the
things of the spirit and those relating to the Astral world must not be sold.
This is
the great disease of American spiritualism which has debased and
degraded its whole history; until it is eliminated no good will come from the
practice; those who wish to hear truth from the other world must devote
themselves to truth and leave all considerations of money out of sight.
To attempt to acquire the use of the psychic powers for mere curiosity
or for selfish ends is also dangerous for the same reasons as in the case of
mediumship. As the civilization of the present day is selfish to the last
degree and built on the personal element, the rules for the development of
these powers
in the right way have not been given out, but the Masters of Wisdom have
said that philosophy and ethics must first be learned and practised before any
development of the other department is to be indulged in; and their
condemnation of the wholesale development of mediums is supported by the history
of spiritualism, which is one long story of the ruin of mediums in every
direction.
Equally improper is the manner of the scientific schools which without a
thought for the true nature of man indulge in experiments in hypnotism in which
the subjects are injured for life, put into disgraceful attitudes, and made to
do things for the satisfaction of the investigators which would never be done
by
men and women in their normal state. The Lodge of the Masters does not
care for Science unless it aims to better man's state morally as well as
physically, and no aid will be given to Science until she looks at man and life
from the moral and spiritual side. For this reason those who know all about the
psychical world, its denizens and laws, are proceeding with a reform in morals
and
philosophy before any great attention will be accorded to the strange
and seductive phenomena possible for the inner powers of man.
And at the present time the cycle has almost run its course for this
century. Now, as a century ago, the forces are slackening; for that reason the
phenomena of spiritualism are lessening in number and volume; the Lodge hopes
by the time the next tide begins to rise that the West will have gained some
right knowledge of the true philosophy of Man and Nature, and be then ready to
bear the lifting of the veil a little more. To help on the progress of the race
in this direction is the object of this book, and with that it is submitted to
its readers in every part of the world.
______________________
THE
OF
THEOSOPHY
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Ten Benefits of Studying the Blavatskyan
Theosophical Teachings
Studying
the Blavatskyan Theosophical teachings offers numerous benefits that can
greatly enrich one's understanding of spirituality, philosophy, and the nature
of reality. Theosophy, as defined by the
writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, has had a profound impact on the
spiritual and philosophical landscape of the modern world. Blavatsky's
teachings draw from a wide range of religious and philosophical traditions,
including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Western esotericism, and present a
comprehensive worldview that addresses fundamental questions about existence,
consciousness, and the cosmos.
Here
are ten benefits of studying the Blavatskyan Theosophical Teachings
1.
Exploration of Esoteric Wisdom
One
of the primary benefits of studying the Blavatskyan Theosophical teachings is
the opportunity to explore esoteric wisdom that is often not readily accessible
in mainstream religious or philosophical traditions. Blavatsky's writings delve
into the esoteric teachings of ancient cultures and mystery schools, shedding
light on profound spiritual truths that have been passed down through the ages.
By delving into these esoteric teachings, students of Theosophy can gain
insights into the nature of consciousness, the structure of the cosmos, and the
evolution of the soul or immortal self.
2.
Synthesis of Eastern and Western Philosophy
Blavatsky's
Theosophical teachings synthesize elements of Eastern and Western philosophy, offering
a comprehensive framework that integrates concepts from diverse cultural and
religious traditions. This synthesis provides students with a broader
perspective on philosophical and spiritual thought, allowing them to see the
underlying unity of seemingly disparate belief systems. By studying Theosophy,
individuals can gain a deeper appreciation for the universal principles that
underlie all wisdom traditions, fostering a sense of unity and
interconnectedness with the world's spiritual heritage.
3. Understanding
of Universal Brotherhood
Central
to Blavatsky's Theosophical teachings is the principle of universal
brotherhood, which emphasizes the essential unity of all beings and the
interconnectedness of life. By studying Theosophy, individuals can develop a
profound understanding of the interconnected nature of existence, recognizing
that all living beings are fundamentally linked and that compassion and empathy
are essential for the evolution of humanity. This understanding can lead to a
greater sense of empathy, kindness, and social responsibility, fostering a more
harmonious and compassionate society.
4.
Insight into the Nature of Reality
The
Blavatskyan Theosophical teachings offer profound insights into the nature of
reality, consciousness, and the unseen dimensions of existence. Through the
study of Theosophy, individuals can explore concepts such as the
multi-dimensional nature of the universe, the existence of subtle energy
realms, and the interconnectedness of the material and spiritual planes. This
exploration can lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of reality beyond
the limitations of the physical senses, opening up new vistas of perception and
understanding.
5.
Personal Spiritual Growth
Studying
the Theosophical teachings can be a transformative journey that facilitates
personal spiritual growth and self-discovery. Blavatsky's writings offer
practical guidance for inner development, including meditation practices,
ethical principles, and the cultivation of spiritual virtues. By applying these
teachings to their lives, individuals can experience profound personal
transformation, leading to greater self-awareness, inner peace, and a sense of
purpose and meaning.
6.
Ethical and Moral Guidance
The
Theosophical teachings provide a comprehensive ethical and moral framework that
can guide individuals in their personal and social interactions. Blavatsky
emphasizes the importance of ethical conduct, altruism, and the pursuit of
wisdom, offering practical guidance for leading a virtuous and meaningful life.
By studying Theosophy, individuals can gain clarity on moral issues, cultivate
a sense of ethical responsibility, and contribute to the greater good of
humanity.
7.
Appreciation of Comparative Religion
The
study of Theosophy encourages an appreciation of comparative religion and the
underlying unity of religious and spiritual traditions. Blavatsky's writings
explore the common threads that run through the world's religions, highlighting
universal spiritual principles that transcend cultural and historical
boundaries. By gaining a deeper understanding of comparative religion through
Theosophy, individuals can develop a more inclusive and pluralistic
perspective, fostering interfaith harmony and mutual respect.
8.
Intellectual Stimulation
The Theosophical
teachings offer a rich and intellectually stimulating framework for exploring
profound philosophical and metaphysical concepts. Blavatsky's writings
encompass a wide range of subjects, including cosmology, metaphysics, ancient
wisdom, and the evolution of consciousness, providing ample material for
intellectual inquiry and contemplation. By engaging with these teachings,
individuals can expand their intellectual horizons, develop critical thinking
skills, and gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental questions that have
intrigued philosophers and mystics throughout history.
9.
Healing and Reconciliation
The
Theosophical teachings offer insights into the nature of healing and
reconciliation, both on a personal and collective level. Blavatsky's writings
delve into the esoteric principles of healing, the nature of disease, and the
interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit. By studying Theosophy,
individuals can gain a deeper understanding of holistic healing modalities, the
power of the mind in influencing health, and the potential for spiritual
transformation through the healing process. Furthermore, the Theosophical
emphasis on universal brotherhood and compassion can contribute to the
reconciliation of divisions and conflicts within society, fostering a more
harmonious and peaceful world.
10.
Contribution to Global Transformation
Finally,
studying the Blavatskyan Theosophical teachings can empower individuals to contribute
to the ongoing global transformation towards a more enlightened and
compassionate world. Blavatsky's vision of a spiritually awakened humanity,
working towards the betterment of all beings, inspires individuals to engage in
positive action and service to humanity. By embodying the principles of
Theosophy in their lives, individuals can become agents of positive change,
working towards the realization of a more just, peaceful, and sustainable
world.
In
summary, the study of the Blavatskyan Theosophical teachings offers a wide
range of benefits, ranging from personal spiritual growth to the potential for
global transformation. By delving into the esoteric wisdom, ethical principles,
and philosophical insights of Theosophy, individuals can expand their
understanding of the nature of reality, cultivate compassion and empathy, and
contribute to the evolution of humanity towards a more harmonious and
enlightened future. As the Theosophical teachings continue to inspire and guide
seekers of truth and wisdom, their profound impact on individuals and society
is likely to endure for generations to come.
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Three Fundamental Propositions Key Concepts of Theosophy
Cosmogenesis
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The Seven Principles of Man Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott William Quan Judge
The Start of the Theosophical Society
History of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society Presidents
History of the Theosophical Society in Wales
The Three Objectives of the Theosophical Society
Explanation of the Theosophical Society Emblem
Glossaries of Theosophical Terms
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An Outstanding
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Elementary Theosophy Who is the Man? Body and Soul
Body, Soul and Spirit Reincarnation Karma
What Theosophy Is From the Absolute to Man
The Formation of a Solar System The Evolution of Life
The Constitution of Man After Death Reincarnation
The Purpose of Life The Planetary Chains
The Result of Theosophical Study
An Outline of Theosophy
Charles Webster Leadbeater
Theosophy - What it is How is it Known? The Method of Observation
General Principles The Three Great Truths The Deity
Advantage Gained from this
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The Constitution of Man The True Man Reincarnation
The Wider Outlook Death Man’s Past and Future
Cause and Effect What Theosophy does for us
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